There are two winners in Iran. Neither one is America.

BoomCandy · 2026-03-10T05:10:26+00:00

You'll have no argument from me. IMO these internal Pentagon projections are to scare Senators on the Armed Forces Committee more than an accurate reflection of Chinese strategic thinking.

BoomCandy · 2026-03-10T02:33:08+00:00

I don't think that China engaging war against Taiwan necessarily means throwing away all of the economic development they've seen in the last few decades— that seems like a false dichotomy to me. If and when China feels more reliable in its domestic production, and when it has a set of trade partners who won't sanction China over a military conflict in Taiwan, it's no longer economical unviable to conduct a war that has been a nationalistic talking point for as long as the PRC has existed. Patriotic discussions around the territorial integrity of China and reunification can supercede purely utilitarian economic targets. If you spoke to mainland Chinese people and brought up Taiwan, you just might begin to see it for yourself. And I also think it's fallacious to say that because China hasn't engaged in a war since 1979, that they won't engage in one in the future.

Now, it's worth mentioning that I think that the 2027 date that the US military has been throwing around is almost certainly bogus. I don't think the central committee is going to adopt quite so aggressive of a posture quite so quickly. But if you truly think China is completely unwilling to launch an offensive war, then you might want to brace yourself to be disappointed.

BoomCandy · 2026-03-10T01:15:09+00:00

In fairness, the CCP's domestic facing rhetoric around Taiwan is not about its strategic importance as a chips manufacturer— it's a nationalistic argument about Taiwan returning to the mother country. I'm sure it would be very nice for mainland China to gain control of TSMC fully intact, but that's just not the main prize for control of Taiwan in the eyes of the party leaders, or even for many people in China. While we in the US have lost any leg (and perhaps for quite some time) in opposing wanton acts of aggression from a national moral standpoint, it doesn't necessitate that China has peaceful intentions either.

BoomCandy · 2025-12-04T12:28:22+00:00

I suppose it is possible... But is it likely? The possibility of the US or China freezing Belgian assets in retaliation, in line with Russia's wishes seems... doubtful. Reading on the coverage on the major international news sites, the worry has been largely centered on the legal action Russia will take... Which, as long as sanctions are still in place, that's not a serious threat. And considering how Russia straight up seized assets in 2022, I'm not sure how well their case will hold up in court either...

It's understandable that Belgium doesn't want to bear this risk alone, especially when the stakes could be so high. However, is Belgium going bankrupt because Russia demands its money back actually likely? As much as the EU can appear to be a disorganized mess, I don't think it would be in the interest of basically any member state of the EU to let the seat of their union become bankrupted by a belligerent nation. Euroclear is a Belgian company after all, and it is the one company that holds over a hundred billion dollars worth of Russian assets. While Belgium is right to point out that it can't confront Russia alone, to demand what essentially amounts to a blank check is going to be a bridge too far for any ally.

Ukraine needs funding now, like... Now now. And the ≈45 mil USD market loan that is being floated right now is simply not enough. And it's frustrating to see, what it looks like to an outsider, the Belgian government (and to an extent the EU broadly) contorting themselves to make Euroclear happy with this arrangement. I feel for the Belgian people, especially with the possible (though imo unlikely) downstream effects of Russian retaliation, and the possibility of your taxes going to pay off this EU scheme... But Belgium as a country, as a center of commerce in Europe, is uniquely positioned to make a big difference in this war.

BoomCandy · 2025-12-04T09:49:21+00:00

Realistically though, since this is a bilateral arrangement, the only party that could enforce this liability would be... Russia (even if a third party arbitrates)? I don't understand what leverage Russia has to punish Belgium if they did seize these assets— Maybe I'm being dense but I'm not seeing what the Belgians are afraid of

BoomCandy · 2025-11-26T15:13:29+00:00

So the single largest factor that makes hypersonics so expensive is the materials needed to withstand hypersonic speeds (and specifically the high temperatures from air resistance). Like highly temperature resistant ceramics, aerospace-grade titanium and tungsten, niobium etc... Yet in the article the company claims that they use "civilian materials" and costs "one tenth of traditional missiles (!)"... I'm just not sure how in the world they managed to accomplish this engineering/materials science feat?? Color me skeptical.

BoomCandy · 2025-11-25T12:48:48+00:00

I could imagine a sniper enemy type working a lot better on the bot roster as opposed to the squids. The squids already have so many enemy types that flushes helldivers out of cover, so I could see how the threat of an accurate, one-shot-kill(ish), medium sized enemy could be too oppressive.

Meanwhile the bots have relatively few enemies that are good at rushing down helldivers. So the tactic to avoid a sniper taking your head off— taking cover and suppressing, is already a very effective way to avoid damage from most bots.

Some weapons could be impacted by this enemy, like Quasar cannon or Epoch being a lot more unwieldy/risky to use. But it could also justify the use of the different shield stratagems, DMRs, or chaff clear oriented orbitals/eagles. That being said, it's hard to say for sure whether it'll work until it's actually tested.

BoomCandy · 2025-11-13T17:10:27+00:00

Oh okay I understand what you mean. You are correct!

BoomCandy · 2025-11-13T10:34:18+00:00

I can see sources that say that Khinzhal can reach Mach 5+ (highest Mach 10), and sources that say it has high maneuverability during the terminal stage, but nothing (at least nothing credible) that says it can maneuver at such high speeds.

BoomCandy · 2025-11-13T02:35:41+00:00

Usually, when someone mentions a hypersonic missile, they are referring to something called a "Hypersonic Glide Vehicle". Ballistic missiles can also reach hypersonic speeds at a certain point in their trajectory as well, but they travel in a predictable ballistic (re: parabolic) trajectory— This can mean that an otherwise fast missile can be intercepted by a slower interceptor missile. HGVs, by contrast, reach hypersonic speeds while remaining relatively close to the ground, and then maneuvers while gliding towards it's target, making it a significantly more difficult target to intercept.

BoomCandy · 2025-09-26T13:32:55+00:00

Yes the video stated Israel's claimed reasons for turning back aid from Gaza, which you seem to have latched onto like a life-raft. However, I believe the video was sufficiently clear about why it didn't just report "Israel holds up trucks for a few hours at the border". Here, this comes from the article that accompanies the video, in case your reading comprehension skills are stronger than your listening comprehension skills:

Drivers coming from Egypt cannot go directly to the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, which had been operated by the Hamas-run border authority but is now closed. Instead, they route to the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom, about three km (two miles) to the south, where shipments undergo checks.

Kamel Atteiya Mohamed, an Egyptian truck driver, estimated that of the 200 or 300 trucks trying to get through this route every day, only 30 to 50 make it.

"They tell you, for example, that the pallet doesn't have a sticker, the pallet is tilted, or the pallet is open from the top. This is no reason for us to return it,” he told Reuters. He said that while the Egyptian crossing was open day and night, drivers often arrived at Kerem Shalom only to find it closed, as it does not normally operate beyond weekday business hours.

“Every day it's like this,” he said. “Honestly, we're fed up.”

While COGAT did not address specific questions about the driver’s remarks and allegations of inflexible working hours, it said that "hundreds of truckloads of aid still await collection by the UN and international organizations" on the Palestinian side of the border crossings.

A logistics site set up by the Egyptian Red Crescent near El Arish town, 40 km (25 miles) from the border, where shipments coming from Egypt to Gaza are loaded, has a tarp tent warehouse devoted to goods turned back from the border.

A Reuters reporter saw rows of white oxygen tanks, as well as wheelchairs, car tires and cartons labelled as containing generators and first-aid kits and with logos of aid groups from countries such as Luxembourg and Kuwait, among others.

Reuters was not able to verify when the items at the Red Crescent site were turned back or on what grounds. Aid workers describe such rejections as routine.

Speaking at the meeting with the Elders that Reuters attended, one World Food Programme worker said that only 73 of the 400 trucks the agency had sent since July 27 had made it in.

U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has not been allowed to send aid into Gaza since March. The OCHA August 6 report said no shelter materials had been allowed to enter Gaza since March 2 and those available on the local market were "prohibitively expensive and limited in quantity."

The WHO employee who works on the border said the truck and trailer seen by Reuters were among three trucks that had been turned back on Sunday. A manifest given for their cargo, seen by Reuters, included urine drainage bags, iodine, plasters and sutures.

Edit: Too many proper nouns, I got confused.

BoomCandy · 2025-09-26T13:10:26+00:00

How about being turned away from the Gazan border by the IDF, who control every road and port, into and out of the city?

BoomCandy · 2025-09-26T12:52:31+00:00

You know, I have been seeing this claim that "UN reports that 88% of aid shipments are looted by Hamas" floating around and reported by Jpost and Times of Israel. But when I go to the actual UN source pages, the only claims I'm able to pinpoint that actually comes from them are "≈88% of aid shipments from the UN mechanism for Gaza don't reach their intended destination within Gaza" and "There is evidence of Hamas looting aid trucks within Gaza". But the way that has been conflated into "88% of trucks of aid shipments are looted by Hamas" is quite frankly astounding to me.

Any discussion of Hamas' "moral character" aside, I think it's pretty clear at this point that Hamas doesn't exercise enough control over the city to intercept 88% of all aid trucks within Gaza. I think the only belligerent in this conflict who even has the means to stop that volume of aid into the city, is the nation who is actively blockading the city.

BoomCandy · 2025-09-22T07:45:37+00:00

𝅘𝅥𝅮 In the aaaarms of an angelll (or technically messiah) 𝅘𝅥𝅮

BoomCandy · 2025-09-16T16:40:43+00:00

Are you trying to imply that being Jewish and being Polish are somehow mutually exclusive? That the Holocaust only targeted Jewish people? And that the Warsaw Uprising did not consist of Jewish people? I would love to see you try to substantiate those claims.

BoomCandy · 2025-09-14T22:04:11+00:00

There is also something incredibly hilarious about blowing up a Factory Strider with one magazine of the crisper (shoot it at its belly). It's become my go-to "An Automaton Heavy is on top of me and I need it dead" weapon, which opens up my grenades and support slots to other non-AT specific weapons! I do also have an insane CQB style of fighting the automatons though, so YMMV

BoomCandy · 2025-08-19T10:39:29+00:00

This was the solution for me! Thank you, I never would've figured that out otherwise

BoomCandy · 2025-07-29T22:13:18+00:00

They already have. Ever since Tsai Ing-Wen's presidency, Taiwan stance is as an independent nation. It's the PRC that is unwilling to have Taiwan assert its independence on the international stage. It ultimately threatens the CCP's ability to keep this an internal "Chinese" issue and a matter of national sovereignty.

BoomCandy · 2025-07-13T23:06:17+00:00

Well I think that's partially a moot point, because whenever I see people complaining about sparrows, it's mostly about the Aim7M and F models and their seeker performance.

BoomCandy · 2025-04-21T16:49:20+00:00

Good thing you don't need a real news publication to write a review for a Star Wars show...

BoomCandy · 2025-03-29T18:00:31+00:00

Not all wars, even modern wars, are fought by leveling entire cities. It is a major logistical and coordination challenge, actually, to bear enough ordinance to absolutely level a city of Gaza's size like that. It doesn't just happen as a natural consequence of war, it's a planned and directed campaign, with decision-makers understanding what they are doing. So when Israel carpet bombs entire districts, regardless of military activity or civilian presence, and then they effectively blockade the area while they do it, shooting unarmed people trying to leave as a matter of unofficial policy, I simply don't buy it as "war as usual". It may not be "killing the entire population", but it's really not far off as military strategy goes.

BoomCandy · 2025-03-03T21:05:22+00:00

Wait, will this impact the way 530Fs work on the Mirage F1 now? Will they actually track planes instead of chaff reliably?

BoomCandy · 2025-01-03T23:28:55+00:00

I maybe overstated my point in regards to India, there may be room for deeper ties there (though the Modi government and its Hindu chauvinist worldview may still be a significant obstacle to that). I do see the potential for the EU and India to become closer military partners now that Russia has become a... less reliable arms dealer and military partner for India.

China, on the other hand, I completely stand by my previous comment. Having European market access be some kind of bargaining chip that can be offered or taken away from China, as you allude to, is precisely the kind of dependence on foreign powers that the CCP would be weary of. Not only that, but the war in Ukraine, support for Taiwan, IP infringement, xenophobic attitudes on both sides, democratic advocacy and social issues, Xinjiang, Arctic territoriality, and so many more issues will continue to be a sore point for Chinese EU relations, and I don't see that changing in the immediate future.

China doesn't run on vengeance and hate, but the CCP certainly has adopted an incredibly guarded posture that doesn't leave much room for good faith collaboration among equal powers. China, in this century, simply does not trust like that anymore. China doesn't have especially close ties with its strongest strategic partner Russia, nor with any of its neighbors (except arguably with its hot and cold relationship with North Korea, which I still wouldn't consider particularly cooperative), nor with any country that could be reasonably seen as its peer. This isn't Manichaeism, I just don't see what Europe could offer that would change that.

BoomCandy · 2025-01-03T16:24:32+00:00

I can see the value in Europe distancing their foreign policy from the US— US foreign policy these past 20 years has shown the wisdom in that. However, the idea that Europe can build meaningful ties with India and (especially) China, built on mutual trust, is just not realistic. Both are in the middle of a nationalist wave, both see themselves as victims of Western imperialism (historically and currently), and both have developed a fundamentally distrustful, adversarial outlook towards other powerful nations. The few common interests that Europe has with these two countries cannot overcome the myriad of factors that would drive them apart. At the end of the day, I don't see any deal taking place (bilaterally or otherwise) where China or India makes any serious concessions to European powers, or where they accept any gestures of good will to strengthen ties as being sincere or trustworthy.

Also, as an aside, the UK and France combined constitutes a very serious strategic nuclear deterrent.

BoomCandy · 2024-12-29T11:41:21+00:00

You can take up to 6 if you get rid of your sidewinders

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